Here’s a copywriting trick so simple it’ll make your font sweat from embarrassment:
Read the line. Then ask yourself: Would anyone ever say the opposite?
If not, congratulations—you’ve just written a perfectly forgettable sentence.
Take this classic:
“Our top value is trust.”
Of course it is. Every bank, every brand, every dentist with a Groupon says that. You ever heard someone say, “At SharkTooth Credit Union, our core value is mild deception and a hint of fraud”? Didn’t think so.
This test slices through fluff like a hot knife through a mission statement. If nobody would ever say the opposite of your sentence, then your words haven’t claimed anything. They haven’t marked territory. They’re just trying to be liked.
But if someone could say the opposite—and even believe it—now we’re getting somewhere.
That’s positioning. That’s voice. That’s a point of view.
Saying, “We obsess over customer autonomy, even if it means they leave us,”? That’s spicy. That’s a sentence with a spine. And someone else might say, “We don’t believe in autonomy—we build habits that make people stay.” Boom. Contrast. Color. Brand.
Does this mean you need to be provocative for the sake of it? Nope.
It means you should be definite.
Declare something that makes your copy—and your meaning—stand out.
If your words can be swapped onto any other business card and still work, they don’t.
Stay Positive & Say Something Meaningful
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